1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus and a method for automatic cooking, and, more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for automatic cooking, which cook food using an automatic cooking algorithm.
2. Description of the Related Art
A basic method of cooking millet, which is a type of hulled grain, is to put millet and a proper amount of water in a vessel, and steam the millet by heating the vessel. If heat is directly applied to the vessel that contains the millet and the water, the heat is transmitted through the vessel, so the water contained in the vessel is boiled. While the water is boiling, the millet is cooked to become edible. However, if the millet is heated at an extremely high temperature for a long time during cooking, the surfaces of millet grains may be damaged. Accordingly, the cooking of the millet should be carried out while heating power is reduced in stages to obtain the satisfactory cooking result of the millet. Additionally, the cooking result depends on respective durations of the cooking stages.
When millet is cooked, a gas/electric equipment, such as a cooking top, is generally used to heat a vessel containing the millet. Notwithstanding that the cooking quality of the millet depends on the precise control of an applied heating power and a cooking time for which the millet is cooked, the cooking of the millet is carried out depending on the judgment of a cook, so it is difficult to obtain an optimal and uniform cooking quality of the millet. Additionally, a cook should control the heating power and ascertain the cooking state of the millet while maintaining vigilance over cooking equipment, so the cook may not do other things until cooking is terminated. That is, the cook may not effectively manage the cooking time of the millet.